Posted on 11/13/2003 1:56:32 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
WHEATON, Ill. - As many as 1,200 students at Wheaton College will gather in the gym Friday night for the first real dance in the Christian school's 143-year history. Which explains why students in recent days have been seeking out classmates who know this stuff and looking for places where they can practice. And it explains why on Monday night and Tuesday night, dozens of students packed a room on campus for a quick dance lesson. Andy Morgan, one of the students at the lesson, said he figured he was in no danger of embarrassing himself. He went to a high school that did not permit dancing. And when it came time to pick a college, he settled on a school that had not allowed social dancing since the war. The Civil War. "I've had a great excuse all my life," 21-year-old Morgan said. Not anymore. "It's crunch time," said 20-year-old Steve Paulus, sounding more like he was talking about cramming for a final than learning to hold his own when the swing band the Rhythm Rockets take the stage. "We are kind of trying to downplay it because it really is another event," said Bethany Jones, a student leader and organizer of the dance. "But on the other hand, we do realize it is historic. It is a big deal." Part of the reason is that change, any change, does not come quickly or without great deliberation at this quiet campus 25 miles outside Chicago. It was not until the 1960s that the school lifted the rule prohibiting students from going to movies. For generations, students were barred from dancing - on campus or off - unless it was with members of the same sex or a square dance. It was not until the 1990s that students and faculty were permitted to dance with spouses or relatives at family events such as weddings. Nine months ago, the school lifted the ban altogether, freeing students to cut the rug on campus or off, at Chicago clubs or other places. (Wheaton also eased its ban on alcohol and smoking for faculty and staff. They can now drink and light up off campus, as long as it is not in front of undergraduates.) Under the new set of rules, called the Community Covenant, students may dance, but should avoid behavior "which may be immodest, sinfully erotic or harmfully violent." Judging by what happened Monday night, meeting those criteria will not be a problem. There was no slithering going on, only students, some about as rigid as rakes, watching their feet as they tried to master some basic steps. "They had a lot of fun, but they kind of approached it from almost an academic standpoint," said Rich Nickel, a local dance instructor who helped get the students ready for the Rhythm Rockets' lineup, which will feature such standards as "Sentimental Journey" and "Sunny Side of the Street." Students say they have been amazed by all the attention the dance has generated. News organizations have descended on the campus, and students have been swamped with calls and e-mails from friends and family. "They want to know if Wheaton is going all liberal, falling apart," Morgan said. While some students say all the attention is ridiculous, others, like Jones, said it will ultimately prove positive for Wheaton, whose most famous graduate is probably the Rev. Billy Graham. "It is really going to improve the outlook the rest of the world has of our students," the 21-year-old said. "It makes Wheaton into a place where people don't do so much thinking about what we aren't allowed to do." Graham Claybrook, a senior, agreed: "It will be nice to be able to tell my friends that I go to a college that is fairly normal." Administration officials say that lifting the dance ban will help get students ready to deal with the real world after they graduate. "Students need to learn how to make responsible choices," said Sam Shellhamer, vice president for student development. "We want to make students learn how to think critically, be discerning and learn how to make wise choices." Shellhamer said there has been concern among some alumni, but for the most part, the reaction has been positive. Laurelyn Claybrook, Graham Claybrook's mother and a 1973 graduate, applauded the move. "I just hated to see the amount of energy spent fussing over whether dancing was OK or not OK," she said. Besides, she joked, there may not be all that much for anyone to be concerned about: "They MAY dance at Wheaton. Whether they CAN dance is another question."
A: Somebody might think they're dancing.
How the hell does a college have any say on what students do off campus?
Rather ironic, seeing how that's the decade that movies in general stopped being "family fare"...
Yeah, I know. Of course, they even had rules about OFF-campus behavior, which is what I found very interesting. According to the article, if you were a Wheaton student and got married in the 1980s, you were not allowed to dance with your spouse at your own wedding. Call it whatever you want, but that's just stupid.
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